Providing Water in the Winter

Every bird needs water, so the easiest addition to your backyard for increasing the species of birds you are seeing is a heated bird bath! A reliable water source is important, especially in below freezing temperatures. Birds can eat snow, but that dips into their precious energy reserves, which takes energy they need from warmth. Having clean feathers is also important for birds in the winter, because healthy feathers lead to better insulation in colder temperatures. We have a 20" Heated Bird bath in stock now, and we are expected to receive a 14" style later in the season. Visit our staff in-store or shop online with us by clicking HERE for all your bird feeding needs.

What has been popular at our feeders?

Suet!

The weather is really starting to cool off now, and that means our feathered friends need more fat in their diet. Birds are small and can burn through 25% of their fat reserves if the weather is particularly frigid. It is important that birds have access to high fat suets like our SuperSuet® cylinders. Ella, one of our sales associates, got this great picture of a Downy Woodpecker on her favorite feeder: the Suet Log Cylinder. This feeder is a great addition to any backyard, and the design is meant to attract all woodpecker species, because the holes are the same size that they excavate in trees when looking for insects. We have plenty of other suet feeders and flavors, stop by the store and see what would work best for you!

Nature Nerd Corner:

Roosting Tenants

You do not have to take down your bird houses for the winter, because some species will use them to roost overnight to stay warm. All you need to do is clean them out and add a layer of white pine wood chips for some extra insulation. Our customer S.K. got a great snapshot of this Downy Woodpecker sleeping in one of their Bluebird boxes. If you want to monitor inside your bird house you can buy our BirdReel camera bird houses. Or, if you are handier, you can add a Blink Camera to one of your existing bird houses. Do you have a fun story or picture you want to share with us? Just send us an email [email protected] or message on Facebook!

Save the Songbirds:

Finch Forecast for the 2025-2026 Season

Michigan is expected to have an influx of winter visitors this year, since the boreal forests of Eastern Canada had a poor cone and seed crop this season. Several species rely on White Spruce, Tamarack, and White Birch, and with the lack of food in Canada and the Upper Peninsula, this year is set to be the largest irruption year since the 2020-2021 season.

 Purple Finch (Male)

Purple Finches had a successful breeding year with mass outbreaks of the Spruce budworm providing tons of caterpillars to feast on in the summer. This species has already been moving southwards en-masse and are expected to arrive at feeders of black oil sunflower seed. Males are a darker, more uniform red than House Finches, while the females have a white stripe above their eyes.

 Pine Siskin

Another finch we are expecting to have an irruption of is the Pine Siskin. Finch feeders full of Nyjer® or sunflower chips will be the best way to attract them to your backyard. In the environment, Siskins can be found in stands of conifer trees or, more specifically, White Eastern Cedars because they had an above average cone crop this year.

 Red-breasted Nuthatch

The Red-breasted Nuthatch has already been spotted in our area for the season, and their numbers are only expected to increase. This species is about Chickadee-sized and loves peanuts, sunflower seeds, and suet. Occasionally, they travel in mixed flocks with White-breasted Nuthatches and Tufted Titmice.

If you want to learn more about other species that might visit Michigan for the winter, check out the Finch Forecast that is put together by the Finch Research Network.